March 19, 2005
PART TWO OF FOUR
This page continues the underground tour begun in the previous page in this series.
The third page in this series discusses a musical performance, a famous tapestry, and some religious sculpture in the Cluny museum.
The fourth page shows some scenes along the Seine.
The underground works were constructed to allow water to be heated and to control flow into and out of the pools. The pools were continually fed and drained off during operational hours, and were completely drained for more serious cleaning and repair work. Civil engineering, architecture, and building trades were alive and well during those times, so long ago (almost 2,000 years, not quite).
Let's get to some closer views of this masonry (that is our tour guide, facing us, she knew a lot about this place but with the crowd and my limited French I picked up less than I wanted):
Several periods of construction and reconstruction are evident here:
Here is a closer look at this roof:
Some of the details of the "plumbing" system have been filled in over years of disuse (since the river moved farther away from here, to its present cemented-in location) and are being explored.
Publicly accessible areas were colorfully decorated with wall paintings on several layers of smooth plaster: here is a sample, note the first coarse layer of plaster, then a second finer layer on which a red background was painted on which, finally, the decor was painted:
The underground tour went outside to see the standing walls of the bathhouse:
The exit to the outside had been reinforced by Medieval builders (where there was an exit, especially with a heavy wall above it, the stresses on the underground opening would be greatest):
Some of the external plumbing, delivering water from the river (close at that time) and returning water to the river, was evident outside (the lower retaining wall is newer of course):
We had to come back through the underground to return to the museum, and on our way back several more features of the Roman water control system were pointed out (water was heated by heating stones over which water was then routed; making the waters warm was a big effort, but necessary):
The next page in this series is a page on performing and stationery arts in the Cluny museum. The fourth and last page shows some nice sunsets along the Seine.
Go to third (next) 'Last Day in Paris' Page.
Go to fourth 'Last Day in Paris' Page.
Go back to first 'Last Day in Paris' Page.
Go to first "Jet-Lag Day in Paris" Page.
Go to "Life in 2005" page.